Studies investigating the association between glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) gene polymorphism and bladder cancer (BC) risk have reported conflicting results. In order to clarify the effect of GSTP1 polymorphism on the BC susceptibility, we conducted an updated system review of published epidemiology studies to provide more precise evidence. We performed a systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). 20 studies with 4,428 BC cases and 5,457 controls were identified. The combined analyses based on all studies showed that there was a significant difference in the genotype distribution in GSTP1(A313G) polymorphism between BC cases and controls not only in Asians (GG vs. AA + AG, OR = 1.59, 95 % CI = 1.01-2.51) but also in Caucasians (GG vs. AA + AG, OR = 1.51, 95 % CI = 1.11-2.06). Upon stratification for smoking status, we observed no statistically significant difference in genotype distribution of GSTP1 in ever-smokers. Combination of the high-risk genotypes (GSTM1 null + GSTT1 null + GSTP1 313 A/G or G/G) demonstrated further increase in the BC risk (OR = 6.64, 95 %CI = 3.63-12.16). This meta-analysis suggests that GSTP1 313 G/G polymorphism is a strong predisposing risk factor for BC.